Paul Di Filippo reviews Hespira: A Tale of Henghis Hapthorn in the February Asimov's. He says:
"Hughes has effectively captured Vance's colorfully ironic way of portraying an exotic society and its inhabitants in a few strokes, as in the elaborate dress code on one of the worlds Hapthorn visits. He also has much of Vance's touch with witty yet highly stylized dialogue. But perhaps the most Vanceian aspect of this series is Hapthorn himself, who may share professions with Sherlock Holmes, but whose overblown ego is more reminiscent of Cugel the Clever, one of Vance's most memorable protagonists."
Not a comparison I would have made, but now that he mentions it . . .
The full review is here: http://www.google.com/url...om/2011_02/onbooks.shtml
"Hughes has effectively captured Vance's colorfully ironic way of portraying an exotic society and its inhabitants in a few strokes, as in the elaborate dress code on one of the worlds Hapthorn visits. He also has much of Vance's touch with witty yet highly stylized dialogue. But perhaps the most Vanceian aspect of this series is Hapthorn himself, who may share professions with Sherlock Holmes, but whose overblown ego is more reminiscent of Cugel the Clever, one of Vance's most memorable protagonists."
Not a comparison I would have made, but now that he mentions it . . .
The full review is here: http://www.google.com/url...om/2011_02/onbooks.shtml
